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A Blog for those who have fun with science fiction, popular culture etc. I'll be following, movies and TV. Especially fond of 12 Monkeys, The X-Files, Orphan Black, Fringe, Dr. Who, James Bond, and the like.

Fringe and the Cult of Personality

Spoilery Pictures to Follow!

What are we to make of this recently circulated picture from the set of Fringe episode 19? (Which is also the same episode that Henry Ian Cusick is guest starring in.) Before we get Lost in that implication alone lets take a good look at the above frame.

It seems to be multiple pictures of the Observer "March" (or some other newbie) and judging by the multiplicity of pictures he's running for election. Maybe this is what happens when an Observer like September dies and his spot needs to be filled, you need to run a campaign to fill his "month". How odd would that be! Only, I am not sure that's entirely the right scenario. Other Fringe players like Olivia have been spotted on this set including Walter and Nina Sharp. Only take a look at Nina in the picture below.

Oh my.

Not only is Nina in a wheelchair she has a shock of white hair! Walter doesn't seem to have aged at all so something is definitely going on here. Since Walter is the same are we looking at an alternate universe and not the deep future? Has the Fringe division crossed over to help another division with it's Observer problem? What would that problem be? If we toss the humorous election scenario aside could it be that this particular Observer has set up shop in this particular timeline/dimension/universe? (Ugh, that argument is making my stomach do flips.)

Has this Observer become so enamored with his powers that he has set up some sort of dictatorship in this universe (let's call it that) and he has set a cult of personality that is important to all tyrants. Has his travels through time and space have made him so powerful that the world is in his thrall. Idolatry is important to dictators because it makes them seem larger than life, almost god like figures. Any vulnerabilities they have are overshadowed by this cult status because the people he rules are always fearful that he is watching over them.

A safer theory would be that this Observer is some sort of outlaw and his picture is posted everywhere to facilitate his capture. (Good luck with that.) Maybe he participated in some horrible crime that injured the now wheelchair bound Nina and the Fringe division has been called in.

I'm saying a dictatorial alternate universe with a power mad Observer at it's helm is a lot more fun!

So what do you all think? Is this theory wackier than my last one? Do I need a long vacation at the mental institution in Deerfield? Or do you suppose Fringe has taken a great leap forward and we should be prepared for anything?

Imagine the impossibilities!

*Update*

I added a couple of extra set pictures to reveal the face of the "guest agent" serving alongside Henry Ian Cusick. Don't know her name yet but it's definitely not Olivia Dunham.

Comments

Weird! I don't really know what to make of these photos Dave. If you enlarge the second photo doesn't it look like 2 Observers are sitting on a bench behind Walter, one with a briefcase? And possibly another 2 standing in the distance behind Henry Ian Cusick?

The cult of personality idea is so opposite to everything we know of the observers. They seemingly have no personality and try to blend into the background, try not to interfere or even interact. I guess that is why this image is so startling.

The lack of words on the photos and the setting in a park almost makes this look like an artistic installation, a tribute or a memorial.

Is the photo of the man unlabeled because it is meant to be an anonymous, generic image or because everyone already knows who he is? The multiple identical images also brings cloning to mind. Perhaps this man was the first observer, a pioneer, the one all the others try to emulate in appearance and behavior.

Last idea, perhaps a conspiracy theorist is trying to expose the observers, get the average person to notice their existence?

Looking at it again, given HIC and Olivia's casual dress I don't think it is a memorial service for someone who just passed. Maybe an annual holiday/day of remembrance? Could this park be like a memorial/monument of sorts? -Lynne